Kasich offers lukewarm support of Obama's jobs plan

Gov. John Kasich offered lukewarm support for at least some of President Barack Obama's jobs plan this morning, a day before the president's Columbus visit designed to tout his American Jobs Act.

Joe Vardon, The Columbus Dispatch

Gov. John Kasich offered lukewarm support for at least some of President Barack Obama’s jobs plan this morning, a day before the president’s Columbus visit designed to tout his American Jobs Act.

Ohio’s Republican governor said he liked Obama’s proposed extension and reduction of the payroll tax – which some GOP members in Congress have signaled opposition to.

Kasich also praised Obama for blocking Environmental Protection Agency rules that would’ve limited smog pollution and were opposed by the business community.

“At this time, it’d be easy to just make some statement and kind of walk away and kind of blast the president; it’s just not my mood now,” Kasich said this morning. “It’s not what I like to do, and this is not a time for partisanship. This is a time to figure out a way in which we can get things moving in the country.”

Kasich made his remarks following a memorial service for fallen Ohio firefighters in Reynoldsburg.

Obama, who delivered his American Jobs Act to Congress this morning, is scheduled to speak at Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School Tuesday afternoon.

In remarks made at the White House this morning, Obama said his plan “will put people back to work all across the country.

“This is the bill that will help our economy in a moment of national crisis,” Obama said, according to a transcript released by the White House. “This is a bill that is based on ideas from both Democrats and Republicans. And this is the bill that Congress needs to pass. No games. No politics. No delays.

“I’m sending this bill to Congress today, and they ought to pass it immediately.”

Obama’s $447 billion plan includes $175 billion in tax cuts for individuals and $100 billion for high-speed rail, repairing or building roads and bridges and modernizing 35,000 schools across the nation.

It also would sharply reduce the 6.2 percent payroll tax paid by workers and companies to finance Social Security, from the 4.2 percent workers have paid for the last year down to 3.1 percent.

The president also wants a payroll-tax reduction of 1.2 percent for all small companies that add jobs or raise wages.

Kasich, former chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee, said he “would hope at this point that Congress takes a very good look at the president’s agenda.”

Kasich said he would like to see some flexibility on eligibility rules for Medicaid and improved job training programs out of Washington.

“The biggest things we can do for our schools and for our local communities is to create permanent jobs,” Kasich said. “That’s what I hope the president will be able to sit with Congressional leaders -- there seems to be some kind of easing of tensions there – sit down and figure out how we can get confidence so the business community can hire people and we can have the kind of prosperity that we’re all hoping for.”